In times of war or other calamity in foreign countries, one of the most pressing concerns for Western governments and multinational corporations is getting their people out safely. In recent times, U.S. and Western citizens were evacuated from war-torn Sierra Leone in 1997 and 2000, Cote d'Ivoire in 2002 and 2004, and from Indonesia and other parts of Southeast Asia in the aftermath of the December 2004 tsunami. The recent escalation in violence in Lebanon has again raised the evacuation question. Because of the relative peace and stability in Lebanon since the end of the civil war in 1990, many U.S. citizens and other Westerners in the country could be ill-prepared for such a contingency. In most scenarios, staying put is the best option unless conditions in the immediate area are untenable or appear to be rapidly deteriorating — or an evacuation is ordered by an embassy or local government.